SOUTH COUNTY COURTS 
An elementary-school teacher pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that she molested a boy who was her godson and one-time student over a four-year period ending in July.

Carmina Erica Lopez, 32, was charged with four counts of committing lewd acts on a child and two counts of committing lewd acts on a child 14 or 15.

More charges may be filed as police continue to investigate, Deputy District Attorney Leonard Trinh said outside the courtroom.

Chula Vista Superior Court Judge H. Ronald Domnitz ordered Lopez held in jail on $2 million bail pending a Feb. 18 hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for a trial.

Domnitz ordered Lopez to have no contact with the boy or his family, and he appointed the Public Defender's Office to represent her.

If convicted of the current charges, Lopez faces a maximum penalty of 19 years and four months in prison, Trinh said.

Trinh told the judge that Lopez, who lives in Mission Hills, began molesting the boy in June 2004 by fondling him in the back seat of her car on at least two occasions when she was his teacher at Nestor Elementary School in South Bay.

Between June 2004 and 2005, Lopez fondled the boy at least twice in her classroom, Trinh said. He said Lopez also had sexual intercourse with the boy in her home between June 2005 and July 2008, before and after he turned 14.

The accusations against Lopez surfaced when the boy, who is now 15, told a counselor about their relationship. He told the county's Child Welfare Services that Lopez forced him to have sex with her, investigators said.

Trinh said he met with the boy Thursday but declined to elaborate about the visit.

“I can't speak for the victim in this case,” Trinh said outside court. “I unfortunately cannot comment on his mental state. I don't have the background for that. We wish him the best in dealing with this.”

Lopez, the single mother of a 4-year-old son, is a fifth-grade teacher at Sunnyslope Elementary School. She was placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation, school officials said.